Kidman & Co., a joint venture between Hancock Agriculture and Shanghai-based CRED Pastoral, recently announced the sale of more than 6 million acres in Queensland Channel Country and the Northern Territory’s Barkly region. As reported by Jon Condon of Beef Central, the sale includes four properties:

• Glengyle Station, which covers roughly 1.3 million acres on the Georgina River.
• Durrie Station, covering more than 1.6 million acres to the southeast of Glengyle on the Diamantina River.
• Naryilco Station, a 1.8-million-acre land tract on the southern end of Queensland’s Channel Country.
• Brunchilly Station, a land parcel in the Barkly Tablelands covering more than 1.1 million acres.

Land to Remain in Cattle Production

An S. Kidman & Co. press release confirming the sale noted that “these properties have been improved by significant investment across a range of areas … while under the ownership of Hancock Agriculture and CRED Pastoral, and have been purchased by Australians who are experienced in cattle operations.”

While the company’s press release did not name the new owners, Beef Central identified the buyer of Glengyle, Durrie, and Naryilco Stations as Appleton Cattle Company and the buyer of Brunchilly Station as Cleveland Agriculture. Both firms are well-established Australian beef producers.

Reporter Larry Schlesinger of the Australian Financial Review estimated the sales price of Brunchilly Station at more than AU$100 million (US$67 million). Appleton Cattle Company paid AU$105.52 million (roughly US$70.65 million) for the 4.94 million acres it purchased from S. Kidman & Co., Schlesinger reported.

According to Schlesinger, the divestiture of the four parcels was driven by S. Kidman & Co.’s desire to focus on its higher-value Wagyu production. Following this sale, S. Kidman & Co. now holds just four Australian properties covering 2 million hectares, or roughly 4.9 million acres.

About S. Kidman & Co.

Mining magnate and majority owner Gina Rinehart purchased S. Kidman & Co. in 2016 for AU$365 million (US$276.8 million) with the backing of minority share partner, Shanghai-based CRED Real Estate Stock Co. Founded in 1899 by Sidney Kidman, S. Kidman & Co. has long been one of the largest landowners in Australia.